Based on Erikson's involvement in a lawsuit. The goal was to show that the survivors of the Buffalo Creek disaster had lost the defining connective elements of their original community as a result of 1) shock related to how awful the experience of the flood was, and 2) how poorly the post-disaster recovery was handled. The book seems freshly interesting post-Katrina, but is also flawed in certain ways (most particularly for me, the fact that Erikson's sample was so clearly biased). An interesting albeit somewhat dated study; worth reading. ( )